WILMINGTON, Del. - A bankruptcy judge in Delaware on Oct. 4 dismissed an insurance claims breach of contract case, saying the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the dispute ( In re Washington Mutual Inc., et al., No. 08-12229, D. Del. Bkcy.; 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 4673).
SAN FRANCISCO - A California federal judge on Oct. 9 overruled all objections filed on appeal by 13 insurance companies to Plant Insulation Co.'s Chapter 11 plan of reorganization and affirmed confirmation of the plan, finding that the bankruptcy judge did not err in approving the reorganization...
BOSTON - There is no evidence that an insurance agent in bankruptcy served as the managing agent for another insurance agency other than allegations of the nonpayment of premiums to support a claim for actual fraud, a Massachusetts bankruptcy federal judge ruled Jan. 2 (In re Gary W. Fravel, Chapter...
SAN FRANCISCO - A California judge on Jan. 31 sided with insurance companies in a long-running dispute with Chapter 11 bankruptcy debtor Plant Insulation Co. over insurance policy coverage for asbestos personal injury claims, finding that the "completed operations" and "products hazard"...
LOS ANGELES - Reorganized Chapter 11 debtor Thorpe Insulation Co. and its asbestos trust received approval Feb. 6 from a California federal bankruptcy judge of a settlement with three insurance companies that have opposed Thorpe's reorganization. The deal covers three insurance policies and includes...
PITTSBURGH - A Pennsylvania federal bankruptcy judge on Feb. 13 reconfirmed on remand the Chapter 11 plan of reorganization for Global Industries Technologies Inc. (GIT), finding that concerns of the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals about the legitimacy of a trust established by the plan to benefit...
BALTIMORE - A Maryland federal bankruptcy judge on March 29 denied a request to reconsider her decision to lift the automatic stay in Lloyd E. Mitchell Inc.'s (LEM) Chapter 11 case so a confidential settlement among the debtor, two insurers and a law firm representing 9,000 asbestos personal injury...
WILMINGTON, Del. - A federal bankruptcy judge in Delaware on April 17 approved a settlement agreement between Chapter 11 debtor W.R. Grace & Co. and one of its insurers that will provide more than $900,000 to the debtor's asbestos personal injury trust in one lump-sum payment rather than in installments...
NEW YORK - Two former executives with bankrupt law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf on May 2 filed a brief objecting to the more than $19.5 million settlement reached among the Dewey & LeBoeuf Liquidation Trust, XL Specialty Insurance Co. and Steven H. Davis, on grounds that the liquidating trustee has failed...
LOS ANGELES - Reorganized Thorpe Insulation Co.'s Chapter 11 plan of reorganization, revised to reflect settlements reached on remand with all of the remaining insurance companies objecting to the plan, received confirmation again May 8 from a California federal bankruptcy judge, who said that once...
PITTSBURGH - Thirteen years after seeking bankruptcy protection from hundreds of thousands of asbestos personal injury claims, building products manufacturer Pittsburgh Corning Corp. (PCC) on May 16 received confirmation from a Pennsylvania federal bankruptcy judge for a plan of reorganization that establishes...
PITTSBURGH - Seven days after issuing final rulings confirming the plan of reorganization for Chapter 11 debtor Pittsburgh Corning Corp. (PCC), Pennsylvania federal Bankruptcy Judge Judith K. Fitzgerald, who is retiring from the bench, on May 31 transferred the case to another bankruptcy judge (In re...
WILMINGTON, Del. - A Delaware federal bankruptcy judge on June 20 granted relief from the automatic stay in The Flintkote Co.'s Chapter 11 case so that Flintkote and certain London market insurance companies can participate in binding arbitration to resolve disputes over insurance coverage for asbestos...
TRENTON, N.J. - Asbestos claims against a bankrupt insured manufacturer are not covered under excess comprehensive general liability insurance policies issued by its insolvent insurer, the New Jersey Supreme Court held June 19, finding that the doctrine of collateral estoppel applies (In the matter of...
PITTSBURGH - An appeal of confirmation of Pittsburgh Corning Corp.'s Chapter 11 plan of reorganization by fellow asbestos bankruptcy debtor Garlock Sealing Technologies LLC was rejected July 23 by a Pennsylvania federal bankruptcy judge, who found the appeal to be a "nullity" pending a...
SAN FRANCISCO - The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 23 directed Chapter 11 debtor Plant Insulation Co. and insurance companies appealing Plant's confirmed plan of reorganization to provide additional briefing on the insurers' argument that the plan and its injunctions affect their...
NEW YORK - Thirty-two insurers and health care plans on Sept. 5 sought relief in New York federal bankruptcy court from an injunction in the Chapter 11 case of Quigley Co. Inc. so they can sue Quigley parent Pfizer Inc. for reimbursement of millions of dollars in benefits for asbestos victims, saying...
SAN FRANCISCO - An appeal by nonsettling insurance companies of a $70 million settlement between Chapter 11 debtor Plant Insulation Co. and two other insurers is moot because the settlement is authorized by the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and was consummated in good faith and the nonsettling insurers never...
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a brief made available on Sept. 16, the Executive Benefits Insurance Agency (EBIA) argues that the U.S. Supreme Court should vacate a ruling by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals because Article III of the U.S. Constitution does not permit the exercise of the judicial power...
PITTSBURGH - A Pennsylvania federal bankruptcy judge on Sept. 11 dismissed the 12-year-old converted Chapter 7 case of Skinner Engine Co. Inc., allowing asbestos personal injury claims to proceed against the company's lone remaining asset - insurance policies - in the tort system (In re: Skinner...
WILMINGTON, Del. - Two insurance companies involved in long-running disputes with Chapter 11 debtor The Flintkote Co. over coverage for asbestos claims are bound by an "expansive" 28-year-old agreement to participate in arbitration to resolve the disputes, a Delaware federal judge held Sept...
SAN FRANCISCO - The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 28 vacated the bankruptcy reorganization plan for a former asbestos insulator, finding that the plan failed to satisfy the requirements of Section 524(g) of the Bankruptcy Code dealing with control by asbestos trusts (In Re: Plant Insulation...
PITTSBURGH - A Pennsylvania federal bankruptcy judge on Nov. 12 mostly denied a motion by two insurance companies to reconsider confirmation of Pittsburgh Corning Corp.'s Chapter 11 plan of reorganization, granting the request only to make clear what affiliates of the debtor are protected from asbestos...
SAN FRANCISCO - A California federal judge on Nov. 21 dismissed an insurer's declaratory judgment action filed against Chapter 11 debtor The Flintkote Co. to determine insurance coverage rights and obligations because the same issues were recently decided in Delaware federal court (Aviva PLC v. The...
BALTIMORE - While two insurance companies are correct that Maryland follows the horizontal exhaustion rule for determining primary and excess policy coverage, the rule must be applied based on the theory of pro-rata allocation, as a former insulation company seeking coverage for asbestos personal injury...